Local News

Oldham County residents will pay a 10 percent tax on their insurance premiums next fiscal year, but due to votes Monday night, all of that tax revenue will go to a taxpayer’s city instead of the county for residents in La Grange and Pewee Valley.La Grange and Pewee Valley officials said they decided to bump up their rates in response to the Oldham County Fiscal Court’s increase to 10 percent. The effort keeps city tax revenue from slipping into the county’s budget.

Power outages at Kentucky State Reformatory put about 450 inmates out of their dorms for three to four days last week, but without major incident.Administrator Gary Prestigiacomo said a steam pipe broke and flooded the basement of a dormitory Jan. 2.La Grange Fire and Rescue Chief Jim Sitzler said as the water rose, it got into the electrical room and shorted everything out. LFRD firefighters pumped at least four feet of water from the basement, he said.

A committee responsible for implementing a vision for the future of parks, utilities, tourism and finances of Oldham County answered questions raised by residents in a report released Jan. 2. Members of the Oldham County Vision Council Committee, appointed by Judge-Executive Duane Murner in May, were charged with the task of answering eight questions developed by a team of residents who created a plan for the future of the county.

With a hasty decision that left residents in uproar, La Grange City Council members voted Monday to fill a seat vacated in December by the late James Beaumont.Former council member Jean Knight was appointed to complete Beaumont’s term through 2008.Council members voted 4-3 to add Knight to the council, with Faith Brush, Lucy Ricketts and Joe Davenport voting against the appointment. The three council members who opposed Knight’s appointment said they wanted more time to review applications from all residents interested in the position.

Business owners are calling for revisions to La Grange's sign ordinance, arguing that city council's incentive to preserve the historic look of the area is compromising the future of the economy and comes with a price for businesses already existing in the city.

In May, council members unanimously approved an ordinance to ban pole signs, neon lighting and banners. La Grange business owners rekindled the issue in October and expressed frustration after the city's code enforcement officer visited businesses with non-complaint signs and asked business owners to remove those signs.

JoAnn Parker used to visit the "Butt Hut" at least four times during her 12-hour shift at Baptist Hospital Northeast. The hut is an smokers' pavilion behind the hospital where Parker went to smoke and relax from the stresses of working as a unit secretary and monitor tech in the hospital's medical surgical unit.

But when officials from the Metro Louisville Baptist Healthcare System announced plans May 11 to make hospital campuses tobacco-free by the beginning of 2008, Parker said she knew she had to do something.

Business owners are calling for revisions to La Grange’s sign ordinance, arguing that city council’s incentive to preserve the historic look of the area is compromising the future of the economy and comes with a price for businesses already existing in the city. In May, council members unanimously approved an ordinance to ban pole signs, neon lighting and banners.

Bedford Loan and Deposit receives 5-star ratingBauerFinancial Inc., an independent bank rating and research firm, has announced that Bedford Loan and Deposit Bank has earned another 5-Star Superior rating, the highest award, for the 62nd consecutive quarter.